


Trust

by dreamalittledreamofme



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Depression, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Qrow Branwen is Ruby Rose's Parent, clover lives, its summer tho, she doesnt find out tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:53:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22574320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamalittledreamofme/pseuds/dreamalittledreamofme
Summary: Qrow has a lot of secrets. He decides to trust Clover with all of them.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi, past Qrow Branwen/Summer Rose
Comments: 9
Kudos: 141





	Trust

**Author's Note:**

> Completely indulgent. Just wanted to write past hummingbird with present fair game. the angst was a bonus

Clover whistles as he walks to Qrow’s room. He hadn’t seen the man all day, stuck on a mission with Elm and Marrow, much to his own disappointment. Sure, he liked working with the other operatives, but he always enjoyed working with his boyfriend more. 

He blushes at the thought of Elm’s teasing earlier in the day. They hadn’t been together long, but he was already smitten with the man. It caused way too many jokes within the Ace Operatives.

Clover slows down as he hears shouting coming from Qrow’s room.

“That’s not your decision alone!”

The lucky man doesn’t want to eavesdrop but he also doesn’t want to leave Qrow, in case there’s something important going on. His indecision leaves him frozen in the hallway.

Qrow does the exact opposite in his room, pacing back and forth. Fear strikes his heart as it always does when this topic is brought up. If Tai told, his relationship with Ruby would fall apart.

Taiyang tries to argue with him, voice coming through the scroll loudly. He doesn’t want to hear it anymore. He’s tired of fighting about this.

“I can’t do this right now.”

Tai, voice full of malice, says “Of course you can’t,” and hangs up. Qrow hears the line go out. He stares down at his shoes, heart heavy. He really did hate fighting with Tai. Shaking his head, he decides he needs to go for a walk to clear his mind.

He heads out, only to bump straight into a solid chest. Teal eyes stare back at him. He panics. 

“What are you doing here?” No, wrong question, “How long have you been standing there?” _Still wrong_ , “How much did you hear?”

His voice cracks. There have been too many emotions in the past hour. It’s all starting to break through. 

Clover takes a step back, unready for the barrage of questions. “Not long. I didn’t hear much.”

Qrow’s resolve continues to break. His shoulders sag. 

“Did you-” he stops. Qrow falls into him, wrapping his arms around his waist and burying his face into the other man’s neck.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. He wasn’t supposed to show Clover this side of him. Part of him hated secrets. After how much he’s been hurt before, he didn’t want to hide anymore. But another part of him thought he could keep this from Clover, at least a little bit longer.

But he was so, so tired.

He stands straighter, pulling himself from Clover. The man looks into his eyes, questioning.

“Let’s go to your room.”

\-------

Clover hands him a cup of tea before settling down on the couch next to him.

The trek to the room had been silent, save for the sounds of their shoes moving forward.

Qrow had never liked Atlas. It was too quiet. Too clean. It felt sterilized, cold, compared to the warmth he’s known in his life.

Clover squeezes his hand, pulling him out of his thoughts. Well, not everything in Atlas was cold.

Clover didn’t really know what was going on. Obviously confused about how the day had transpired, but he still continued to be someone Qrow could lean on, something he was eternally grateful for. 

“We don’t have to talk about it. I’m here fo you, Qrow, no matter what.”

Qrow looked at him in surprise. What did he do to be surrounded by such good people? He sighed. ‘No matter what, huh?’ This could change how the man saw him entirely. Maybe- no. No, he needed - wanted- to trust Clover with this. His past. Him. Completely and utterly.

“Ruby is my daughter.”

He squeezes Clover’s hand tight and closes his eyes. He’s terrified to see the other man’s reaction. Worried about what he will see. But he hasn’t said anything. He opens his eyes slowly. Just in time to see Clover’s face turn from shock to- well he doesn’t know what. Questioning?

Qrow can’t blame him. He must have a million questions running through his head. 

The man schools his face into somewhat acceptance. Qrow obviously has more to say. “Okay.”

Qrow almost wants to laugh. He’s nowhere near done explaining. Done telling him everything that’s happened in his life. He sets down his tea and takes out the photo of STRQ from his pocket.

“This is the old team you mentioned. Summer, Tai, and my sister Raven.”

Clover takes the picture, looking at it closely. He notices the ring of dew around the girl in the white hood. Summer, he thinks. He also notices the tear stains scattering around the photo.

He wants to look at the younger Qrow longer, wants to look back and forth and notice the differences. Like the lack of grey hair, the bags under his eyes. But he also wants to notice the similarities. He sees the slanted cross necklace. He sees the same look in his eyes, the cockiness, but his Qrow is a bit more tired. A bit more soft around the edges. Worn out from the world. 

His attention gets pulled to the teammates. The two that look so much like Ruby and Yang. It seems like Ruby got all her features from her mother. Maybe if he looked at Qrow and Ruby side-by-side he would notice their similarities. But he doubted it, Ruby and Summer could’ve been twins. Tai is bright. Yellows and oranges make him stand out against the rest. He looks like a force to be reckoned with. Clover hasn’t known Yang long, but he can tell that’s where she gets her brightness from. Raven looks like Qrow, but harsh. Long, pitch-black hair and deep red eyes. Clover doesn’t know what to make of her.

“When we first became a team, Raven and I were outraged. Do you know anything about the Branwen Tribe?”

“They’re a tribe located in Mistral. Known for their brutality and rules of no mercy.” His brain clicks with information before connecting the dots. “You were...a part of the tribe?” It’s half a question, half a statement.

“Grew up in it. For the longest time, it was just me and Raven. Then the tribe found us. Took us in. Everything we learned, was from them. Then we got sent to Beacon. But our mission wasn’t to become huntsmen. It was to learn how to kill huntsmen.”

Teal eyes snap to him in shock. Qrow killing other huntsmen? He couldn’t even imagine it. He opened his mouth to speak, but Qrow beat him to it. 

“Don’t worry. I had the two most frustrating people in the world to snap me out of it.”

Clover looks at him curiously. Although the words were laced in slight annoyance, the bird had a fond look in his eyes. 

\-------  
Qrow was falling. Not of his own choice though. Really, it was only the headmaster’s choice. Either way, he was falling.

He takes out Harbinger, turning it into scythe mode. He aims for a tree, embedding the blade into it and swinging around until he hits the ground. He looks up quickly, seeing Raven fly past him. He runs to follow her.

They needed to team up. It was going to be so much harder to complete their task if they were separated. Yes, that was it. There was no other reason he needed to find her. Definitely not because he knew no one else and had zero social skills. He was already dreading having to work with two other people. But maybe he would get lucky and the rest of his teammates would ignore what he and Raven were doing.

He snorted. Yeah, fat chance of that happening.

Qrow stopped. In front of him wasn’t Raven, but a girl in a white hood. 

She hadn’t noticed him yet, back turned against him. He tries to turn into the bushes but before he can, a giant Ursa runs out, heading straight for the girl.

“Hey-” He tries to call out. 

She takes out her weapon, slicing the Ursa in half before Qrow can get another word out. 

He whistles, impressed. Then she turns to him, looking him in the eyes. Fuck. Raven is going to kill him.

“Why are you wearing a skirt?”

Double fuck. He forgot what he was wearing.

“It’s a kilt?” Her face remains expressionless. He was going to kill the blonde bastard that tricked him into wearing this.

Her face morphed into pure joy. She raises her hand to her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter, but the more she looked at him, the more she laughed.

Qrow’s face softens. Well, if he gets to see this girl’s beautiful smile, then maybe the blonde wouldn’t die.

\-------

“Raven wasn’t too mad at me. When I found her, she was already paired with the blonde guy that tricked me, Taiyang.”

“Is there any chance I’ll get to see you in a skirt?” Clover flirts.

Qrow rolls his eyes, “We’ll see how lucky you get.”

Clover’s mouth drops in surprise and his grip tightens around Qrow’s. Huh, who knew Clover would secretly like that? The bird stores that expression in his mind for a later time. 

“We were menaces at first. We didn’t care about classes or personal training. We only cared about fighting. It wasn’t uncommon for me and Raven to be out of the dorms late at night.”

“What caused the change?”

“Summer Rose did. One day, she woke us up at the crack of dawn. Forced us to follow her into the gyms. She and Raven had it out. There was a lot of screaming that morning. But Summer managed to beat both us, breaking our auras. From then on, we listened to her. She was our leader and she earned it. The more we- I learned away from the tribe, the more my view of the world changed. Summer had a way of doing that, changing the way people see things. She was wild but smart. Ruby is a lot like her.”

The man’s voice is full of warmth. Warmth Clover had only seen when Qrow looked at him in the early morning light, cuddled together, exchanging soft kisses and banter. On missions, when Clover took down a Grimm, only to look back and see Qrow staring at him. During all their moments of flirting.

“You loved her.” His heart felt heavy for so many different reasons.

Red eyes meet teal, “I did.”

\-------

Qrow and Summer split apart, the latter getting thrown a few feet back.

It’s their fourth year at Beacon. Graduation is coming up in the next week. Summer decides to celebrate by waking the bird at dawn and sparring. A habit that grew after that first time with Raven. Although for years now, it’s only been Qrow and Summer. 

“It’s gonna take more than that short-stack.” The man looks at Summer, unimpressed. He wags his finger, attempting to get on the woman’s nerves.

It works. Summer runs at him. He shakes his head, brings Harbinger down to meet with her weapon. They clash. Qrow smirks. 

“C’mon, you got anything else?” he says across their weapons. 

Suddenly, he feels his feet get swept out from under him. He lets out a loud yelp, head hitting the ground hard.

“I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” Summer frets, standing beside his lying form.

He raises his head, rubbing the back of it. “I think you might have given me a concussion.”

He’s not actually hurt, but he’s not going to miss out on a chance to tease his leader.

She kneels down to get a closer look at his head. “I’m so, so sorry, Qrow. Is there anything I can do?”

“Come closer.” Her eyebrows furrow. She comes closer anyway until their faces are inches apart. 

Looking at her this close, his heart starts to beat faster. Her silver eyes glimmer and her cheeks start to fluster. He wishes he could look at her all the time.

He snaps out of it. He can’t be distracted. A plan needed to be carried out.

Qrow opens his arms quickly and engulfs Summer. She squeals, completely surprised. He tackles her back to the ground, causing giggles to burst from both of them.

They roll on the ground, pretending to fight but failing miserably, as their laughs stop them from focusing. Finally, Qrow gets on top of her, holding her arms above her, and bringing his face close to hers. The chuckles die out.

“I win.” His eyes roam around her face, which is getting noticeably redder. Her eyes look anywhere but the man on top of her.

It’s been like this for a while now. Moments where they get caught up in each other. Unable to move. Unable to breathe. Qrow doesn’t know what to make of these.

Silver eyes snap to his. He slowly lets go of her arms, framing his around her head to hold himself up.

He’s frozen there, too wrapped up in the sight of Summer Rose. The man watches as her eyes flicker towards his lips. And she leans up. Their lips almost brush. Qrow doesn’t remember how to breathe anymore.

“Gross, guys! Get a room! Preferably not this public one.” Tai’s voice rings out. “Actually, don’t do it in our room either. Go find a closet.”

They snap back from each other, standing quickly. Tai and Raven have entered the fighting ground. Qrow sneaks a peek at Raven. She meets his gaze with an angry glare.

Tai rolls his eyes, “We were looking for you guys. Professor Ozpin says he needs to speak with us.”

Both Raven and Tai start to walk out of the grounds, not waiting for their teammates.

Qrow avoids looking at Summer. He rubs the back of his head, not sure how to move forward. “Uh…”

In a flash, Summer grabs the lapels of his coat, pulling him down. She smashes her lips against his. Qrow melts into the kiss. He wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her closer. It’s passionate but has a softness to it. Only something Summer Rose could do.

“Guys! Let’s go!” Qrow faintly hears in the background. He wants to be annoyed, but the feeling of Summer against him has taken all of his thoughts.

She breaks the kiss and steps back, but not before giving him one last peck. He chases her only to feel a finger pressed on his lips.

“We will continue this later.” Her smirk oozes confidence and nonchalance, but the way she skips out of the room betrays her tone.

Qrow watches her leave, frozen for the third time this morning.

\-------

The room is silent. Clover takes all this information in. He’s jealous, he realizes. It’s not something he is proud to be feeling, but he is. The thought of Qrow being with someone else romantically sends a horrible feeling into his gut.

Clover attempts to sate it. This is about Qrow. About Summer Rose. Their past. Qrow’s present. And everything in between.

“That’s the day Ozpin enlisted our team to fight against Salem. In many different ways, my life changed that day.”

“For better or for worse?” It’s an unfair question. He didn’t really mean to ask that. But he needs to know where he stands. The feeling in his gut comes back.

Qrow takes a minute before answering. He thinks of the people he’s lost. The people who betrayed him. The people who lied to him.

But he also thinks of this moment. His niece and his daughter, only a few rooms away. The flame in them burning bright. The life long friends they’ve made. The love he has for both of them. He thinks of the man next to him. He’s filled with warmth and safety. And love. He’s found a man that he loves, even after all the heartbreaks.

Qrow still didn’t know how to answer. There is so much good and bad surrounding him.

Instead, he says, “Maybe there are some things I would change. Some things I wish wouldn’t have happened. But I don’t regret being here in Atlas. Being here with you.”

Clover’s smile is bright. He lifts their conjoined hands and kisses Qrow’s softly. Qrow melts. He turns to putty around him.

For a moment, everything is still. Qrow has so much more to say, but he wants to stay in this moment forever. Clover is looking at him with such love and warmth. An adoration he doesn’t see often in his life. And even more rare, he can feel the love he returns. 

The lucky man is confident and cool. But also an absolute dork. Clover and Summer are so different but in some ways are a lot alike. They both have this endless amount of optimism and hope.

He shouldn’t be comparing the two. It’s not fair to either of them. Though, he thinks they would like each other. 

“So, when did Yang come in?” Clover’s curiosity gets the better of him.

“Almost a year later. Raven was never really fighting for Ozpin. When she found out about all of it, she drew away from us. It wasn’t all at once. Slowly, she stopped talking to us, stopped coming to planned dinners. Then we found out she was pregnant. Tai was so excited. And for a moment, we thought things were going to go back. That we would all be a team again. But when Yang was born, she left.”

Tai was heartbroken. He drew away too, even from Yang. He was still there in the house, but it’s like he was vacant. He couldn’t look at his daughter without thinking of her mother.  
As he thought about his sister, Qrow wanted to be angry. He wanted to be able to scream at her and tell her she was being stupid. One for leaving Yang, and another for betraying him. Though, when he thought about Raven, all he felt was pity. He knew his sister through and through. Even as they were fighting in Haven, he could tell she was being controlled by fear and in extension, arrogance. She thought she could handle it all, without the need for family.

Qrow might have wanted to be alone for the past thirteen years of his life, but he still knew how important their family was.

In the time Raven took to leave, Summer and Qrow had stepped in. They moved into Tai’s house. They both took care of Yang with adoration. But when it came to Taiyang, they had different approaches. Summer believed in giving the man time, feeling that when Tai was ready, he’d come back to them. Qrow was less patient. Three months into living together, he was angry. It was a major screaming match in the kitchen. Qrow doesn’t really know what was the final straw, but soon after, the blonde had started to be there for his daughter.

By then, Qrow and Summer should have stepped back, and they did somewhat, but their lives were already so intertwined. They had all come to like the routine of everything. Anytime one of them needed to go on a mission, the other would take care of Yang. The routine had been a nice change of pace to the hectic missions they had. It was something they were glad to have established when Summer learned she was pregnant.

“She was so excited. She couldn’t wait to come home and tell me. It was kind of funny. I was holding Yang while Tai was in the kitchen warming up a bottle for her. When Summer barges through the front door and yells that she has a ‘little rose’. Tai dropped everything he was holding.”

He chuckles at the memory.

“And you?”

“I-I was terrified. You know me. You know my semblance. Having a baby? Yang already had too many scares around me.”

“Qrow, you are more than your semblance.”

He looks at the man sadly, “She said the same thing.”

\-------

Qrow was freaking out. A rare sight for the laid back man. He saw more than heard Summer talking to him. Her hands on his shoulders, attempting to calm him down. She knew what he was thinking before he even spoke. 

“Qrow, honey, you are so much more than your semblance.”

He couldn’t stand to hear it. Couldn’t stand to even think about having a baby. It was too much. His head was racing with worst-case scenarios. The baby being injured because of him, killed, or possibly getting his semblance. 

He ignored Summer. Qrow turned into his bird form and flew out the window. He regrets it the moment he does it, as he turns his head and looks at his wife’s face of absolute misery, but he doesn’t stop.

Qrow and Raven had always been similar. They were twins that grew up in a violent tribe after all. But after Raven left, pulled away from her family, he swore he would never be like her.

The farther he flew, the more he realized he was leaving his family too. His wife and their soon-to-be-child. Tai and Yang. He loved them, he really did. And he was terrified of losing them.

Summer’s reassurance comes into his head. He was so, so scared, but maybe with them, it was okay. They loved him back, regardless of his semblance.

Qrow turns right around. In a few hours, he’s back home. Summer rests on the couch, sobbing. The moment she sees him, she runs up to him and hugs him tight. Before Qrow can react, she lets go and slaps him. 

“I thought you were _gone_. That you were never coming back!”

“I’m sorry, Summer”

“Promise me. Promise me you’ll never leave us like that again.” Passion is in her eyes. He knows she will never give this up.

“I promise.”

He breaks that promise three years later.

\-------

In the present, Qrow is close to tears. He takes deep breaths, trying so hard not to let them escape.

Clover wants to hold him close. He wants to tuck Qrow into his arms and keep him away from ever getting hurt again. He wants to kiss every part of him to show him he is loved. That he can be loved. That even with his semblance, he can still be happy, despite what the world has shown him. 

The younger huntsman settles for wrapping his arms around him.

He knows he can’t protect Qrow fully. He can’t erase the pain of the past and he can’t guarantee there will be no pain in the future. But he can be there for him. He can be his ground to keep steady on.

“Summer went on a mission. We didn’t know where or what it was and she refused to tell us. And she-” He clears his throat, “She never came back.”

\-------

The bird was adamant she was still alive. He searched for her for weeks, leaving a two-year-old Ruby with Tai. He searched every part of Vale and Mistral, called in favors with old friends, questioned Ironwood and Glynda. Eventually, he knew he had to return home.

Qrow refused to take any missions. He didn’t want to be anywhere else but home unless she came back. He didn’t want to leave Ruby.

In his heart, he knew. Why else would she be gone? Why else wouldn’t she come home? Summer wasn’t like him and Raven. She didn’t get scared at the thought of being vulnerable. She loved and protected her family. The woman would never just...leave them.

It wasn’t until he was holding Ruby in his arms, the baby looking up at him, slowly nodding off, that he accepted it. He looked at his beautiful, sleepy petal that looked so much like her mother already. Then she said the one word that shattered his heart into pieces.

“Mama?”

Ozpin called him two days later, fully confirming Summer Rose’s death.

\-------

Qrow was sobbing into the other man’s chest. This was the first time. The first time he had told anyone that story, about holding Ruby. It was the first time he had told anyone about all of it.

He feels fingers moving through his hair, attempting to soothe the tears. He tries to speak again, only to choke out stutters and half sentences. Clover shushes him softly.

“Don’t force yourself. You don’t need to. It’s okay to cry. To take a break. I’m going to go get some water.”  
The teal eyed man shifts to get up, but strong arms hold him in place. He looks down to see red eyes staring back at him, pleading, “Please don’t go.”

“I-I won’t. I promise.”

Clover stays down, holding the man tightly. Qrow has stopped crying, only sniffles coming up every so often. Clover moves the pillow out from under them and forces Qrow to fall back. They lay down on the couch, the older huntsman trapped between the back cushions and him. He doesn’t let go of him once.

He continues to stroke the bird’s hair. Soon, he hears light snoring. As he looks down, he sees a sleeping Qrow, cheeks still flushed and tear-stained.

Clover turns his head and sees his jacket thrown over a chair, the weapons lying against the wall, and the teacups on the table, no doubt cold by now. The thought of cleaning is appealing. As he looks back at the man lying in his arms, he decides he would rather stay there. He has a lot to think about anyway.

\-------

Qrow wakes up with a start, eyes snapping open, dazed and confused as to where he is. He sees the man lying next to him, almost falling off the couch, and remembers the events of last night. 

He wants to shuffle away. Just to grab his weapon and leave. He’s so, so embarrassed. God, what was Clover going to think about him now? Was he going to pity him?

As if sensing the discomfort, Clover begins to shift, hands getting tighter around his waist. His eyes open slowly.

“Hey, hot stuff.”

Qrow sighs in relief. Flirting, something he knows, something to show everything is still the same.

“Are you okay?”

He chuckles dryly, “Not really, no.”

Clover nods, sits up, and stretches. It was rough, sleeping on the couch with another person. His back was going to hurt all day, but he doesn’t regret staying there.

With horrible timing, Qrow’s stomach rumbles. Ah, food, the thought of eating dinner failed to come up last night.

“Well, no use talking on an empty stomach. C’mon.” The younger huntsman unwraps himself from the man fully and goes to the bathroom.

Qrow is unsettled. He doesn’t like Clover’s tone or the way he’s been replying. He sits on the couch and fiddles with his rings, feeling awkward.

“I have a toothbrush you can use,” Clover says as he walks back into the room. 

Qrow rushes past him, thankful for something to do.

The other man just sighs and goes into the kitchen to start making breakfast.

He had a lot of time to think last night and he’s come to a decision. But first, he needs to ask a question.

Qrow comes back and sits on the barstool, watching Clover flit about the kitchen. It’s quiet. Too quiet for them. Finally, his anxiety gets the better of him, “So,” silence, “Do you have any questions? Anything you need to say? Anything?”

Clover takes the eggs off the stove and turns to him.

“Why do you keep this from Ruby?”

“I-we- when Ozpin told us, I broke down. So did Tai. For a long time, I was out of commission. My drinking got worse. Tai helped out a lot, having been through something like that himself. But I blew up at him too, said we weren’t the same. That Raven was at least still alive. And he took it in stride. He never got angry with me. And I-”

He pauses, trying to get his words together.

“I held Ruby in my arms, almost three years old. She looked at me with such a bright smile, like she saw my sadness and was trying to make me feel better, like she didn’t lose someone too, like I was everything to her. I made a decision at that moment. Because I knew I couldn’t be. I couldn’t be everything she wanted - or needed - if she stayed with me. She would be forced to share my bad luck. And I was terrified, I didn’t want her story to end in the same way her mothers did.”

That was it. That is what Clover needed to know. If Qrow had blamed himself for everything. And he did.

“So, I made the decision. When Ruby called me dad on that day, I told her to call me uncle. I didn’t take her long to catch on and she was so small, she wouldn’t remember ever calling me dad. Tai was furious. He went on and on about how I was abandoning her. When I saw it as the exact opposite. This way, she wouldn’t be forced to deal with a sad, drunken dad. She didn’t have to wait up for me to come home from missions. She would never have to fear that one day I will never come back, just like her mother.”

“And Tai? What did he do?”

“We agreed that he would be her father. What else could he do? I left. Tai was so much more than I could be. And look at her now, she’s amazing. So strong and fierce and smart. I might share blood with her, but he’s the one who really raised her. Tai, in many ways, is her dad too.”

Bread popped out of the toaster, scaring both of them. Clover went to pull them out, still silent.

“I-I’m sorry”

Clover sighs, “What are you sorry for?”

This momentarily stops Qrow.

“I’m sorry for putting this all on you. You don’t deserve this. You don’t deserve me.”

Clover sets plates down on the counter hard, before walking to Qrow and taking both hands in his.

“Qrow, can I tell you something? I don’t care.”

The bird stares at him, completely dumbfounded.

“I mean, of course, I care. I care about you and your past and your future. But I don’t care about your semblance. I don’t care about the amount of baggage you have. I don’t care that you keep this big secret.”

He stares deeply into red eyes.

“Qrow, this part of you? This doesn’t change anything for me. I’m not upset or angry. Thank you for trusting me with this. I’m glad I’m someone you can trust.” The aforementioned man has tears in his eyes. “You are so much more than you realize. Brave and strong and beautiful. And I hope one day you’ll be able to see it. I deserve you Qrow, and you deserve me. I love you, Qrow Branwen. Every bit of you. And that’s not going to change.”

He doesn’t need him to say it back, just needs Qrow to know that he means it.

He wraps his arms around his waist and pulls him close. He pretends not to feel the teardrops on his shoulder. Qrow takes a deep breath.

He has had a wound in his heart ever since he was a kid. A wound that started to get smaller as he entered Beacon, but grew so much deeper when Summer died. A wound, he realizes, that never healed correctly. Instead, he threw alcohol on it. An attempt to soothe the pain, but it hurt him more than he realized.

The wound has opened fully again now, but hopefully this time, with his daughter, his niece, his friend, and his Clover surrounding him with love and support, it will heal correctly.

**Author's Note:**

> *On the way to Patch*  
> Qrow: Oh yeah and Tai and I have slept together  
> Clover: _What_
> 
> Originally supposed to be golden hummingbird but as I wrote it, I decided to keep it as just hummingbird. But i still want to write them so expect one of those soon.
> 
> I super appreciate comments. They make my week. Thank for reading!!
> 
> Fair game rights!!!


End file.
